'One-Eyed Blackie'
by Lee Bryant and Susan J Meyerott
Tenderly Loved
'It doesn't happen all at once,' said the Skin Horse.
You become. It takes a long time.
Generally, by the time you're Real, most of your hair has been loved off,
and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby.
But these things don't matter at all,
because once you are Real you can't be ugly,
except to people who don't understand.”
Margery Williams Bianco,
The Velveteen Rabbit
The Velveteen Rabbit
Lee and Monsieur Le Noire
Monsieur Le Noire
Tar Fondu
Mr Black
Blackie
Mr Bee Lack
Mr Bee Lacky Lack
Mr Bee Lackey Boy
One-Eyed Blackie
One-Eyed Blackie wasn't always one-eyed.
He began life as a magnificent creature~Monsieur Le Noire.
But through the years,
~just as the skin horse in the Velveteen Rabbit described~
his hair was loved off, and his eye dropped out,
and he got loose in the joints, thin and shabby.
But he was never ugly.
No, he was tenderly loved
and always seen as the magnificent creature that he was
who graced his human's life.
who graced his human's life.
By Any other Name Otter Was a Prince of a Dog
Otter
Otter Boy
Otter Boy
Otter B Hound Dog
Otter B Hounddoggie Boy
Otter B Hounddoggie Boy oh Boy
Mr BobnBob
Maita Bob
Meeta
Maita
Mate
Mate
'Lovely Meeta, Meeta Dog'
Where do all of these nicknames come from for our long-time companions?
Our furry friends are our intimate confidants and side-kicks
for our many life adventures. No matter how old we are
we whisper our stories and sing our songs to them.
Over time, our companions become the embodiment of
the songs in our heads and the tenderness in our hearts--
reminding us of our own silliness and vulnerabilities.
These ditties and nicknames become lodged in our heads to
linger long after our beloved pets are gone.
💓💓
"The nickname Maita/Meeta came from singing
the Beatles tune Lovely Rita, meter (“meeta” w/accent) maid...
just a bizarre twist of that over time.
The brain can be filled with silliness as u know..."
Lee Bryant
Lee Bryant
No No Bad Dog
Arrow
Sp-arrow
Arrow
Sp-arrow
Wheel B-arrow
My Gringo Dingo
My Gringo Dingo
Dog
No No Bad Dog
Profiles of a Gringo-Dingo
Arrow was an interesting dog--a street dog from Guanajuato, Mexico.
When my 18 year old son brought Arrow home as a puppy
it was touch and go whether
I'd let him stay or send him to 'the pound'.
No No Bad Dog destroyed my son's foam mattress in a day;
ate my turquoise fimo necklace and pooped it out the next day;
and he took years to train the suspiciousness of
other dogs and humans out of him.
He was never an easy dog, but we came to love
our Gringo Dingo who believed it was
his dog-given right to bark at the FedEx man
when he heard his truck coming from a mile away.
No, not all of our beloved pets are well-behaved all of the time.
They can be ill-mannered and whiny; garbage-pickers and destroyer's of property.
But we love them all even if we do threaten to take them to the pound!
Arrow was an interesting dog--a street dog from Guanajuato, Mexico.
When my 18 year old son brought Arrow home as a puppy
it was touch and go whether
I'd let him stay or send him to 'the pound'.
No No Bad Dog destroyed my son's foam mattress in a day;
ate my turquoise fimo necklace and pooped it out the next day;
and he took years to train the suspiciousness of
other dogs and humans out of him.
He was never an easy dog, but we came to love
our Gringo Dingo who believed it was
his dog-given right to bark at the FedEx man
when he heard his truck coming from a mile away.
No, not all of our beloved pets are well-behaved all of the time.
They can be ill-mannered and whiny; garbage-pickers and destroyer's of property.
But we love them all even if we do threaten to take them to the pound!
Bailey the Bunny
A Bundle of Love
Funny, Furry, Fluffy, Friendly
Loved
💓💓
"Until one has loved an animal
a part of one's soul remains unawakened."
Anatole France
Murphy the Coffee Table Dog
The Murf
The Good Boy
I always thought Murphy Greenstein was the perfect coffee table dog.
His size and squared off shape, along with his mellow personality,
made me picture him with a glass tabletop on his back functioning
as a coffee table. Really, The Murf was the perfect height for petting,
and perfectly agreeable to stand perfectly still to get him some of that.
By all accounts, Murphy was simply a Good Boy.
💓💓
'I give thanks to all the furry ones
that have made me so rich
with a precious legacy of memories.'
Diane Hackney-Smith
Ginger and Velvet--The BFFs
Ginger the Talking Dog
Velveeta Cheese
Ging and Velvy
Ging and Velvy were two of the sweetest dogs ever
--even if Velvy was shy of short people.
Ginger and Velvet met later in life and became
fast friends the minute Ginger the Talking Dog
let out a friendly greeting to Velvet who
answered back in a similar agreeable voice.
It was clear these soon to be best friends
spoke the same language, as did their human
'soon to be best friends'--Susan and Debi.
Velvet passed before Ginger and was buried
on the hillside in her backyard.
When it was Ginger's time to go at almost 18 years old,
Debi came to me and said, "It's time, Sue".
She made the call to Dr Miller for me to put Ginger to rest
while her family dug a grave for Ginger so she could be
laid next to her best friend, Velvet.
Years later when it was Arrow's time to go,
once again her family dug a grave for him so he could take
his place alongside all our other beloved pets.
I can think of nothing more tender and intimate
between friends than to call the vet and to dig the grave
for a pet when you are too broken up to do it yourself.
Our beloved pets bind us to one another deeply
as we share in their lives and their deaths.
💓💓
"There are doggies I'll remember all my life.
Some are dead, and some are living
In my life, I've loved them all."
With a nod to the Beatles Song 'In My Life"
Dancer Dances One Last Time
Dancer, the independent mini Aussie,
came to us one year to spend time with Arrow
when her humans took trips. Arrow fell in love with
Dancer immediately as Dancer didn't pay Arrow any mind.
I said Dancer was channeling my mother whose advice
on men would always be, "Treat 'em mean, Susan; treat 'em mean."
Arrow the 'water-phobic' and sun-loving, Mexican street dog
would follow Dancer into the creek and any other place she decided to go.
She had the cutest little wiggle, and she would dance and prance
as she looked back over her shoulder when she was happy
and when she would greet you. She was sassy and flirtatious
in a friendly, fun-loving way--just like my mother was--and Arrow adored her.
💓💓
Dance, Dance, Dance Away
Soft moss a downy pillow makes,
And green grass makes a bed,
where Dancer lays her tired head.
Sweet dreams, dear Dancer~
Ado Adieu
Lay your head for the last good night,
Then dance, dance, dance away.
Credit: The 'Soft moss a downy pillow makes' line is from Elizabeth T Dillingham's 'A Faery Song'
💓💓💓💓
Tears are words
The heart can't express
